Grand piano action



Oct. 26,1937. H. s. HOR NBECK 2,096,393

' GRAND PIANO ACTION Original Filed Sept. 20, 1935 f f f; I f I N I j 6I .9 I; l v 0 03 U5 1 g a d 5 3 I 2 z w ill 4 5 b 4 Fwd. 5

6 2 Z mv' TOR PM 7 Z 4 5 ji j flm M ATTOR EYS Patented Oct. 26, 1937PATENT OFFICE 2,096,898 GRAND PIANO ACTION Henry S. Hornbjeck, HamptonBays, N. Y.

Application September 20, 1935, Serial No. 41,397 Renewed March 10, 19371 Claim.

The special purpose in view in the development of this invention hasbeen to overcome the resistance which,'in grand piano actions asheretofore constructed, is offered to the movement of 5 the keywhen thehammer is inits last portion of upward travel just before and, duringthe movement of the action which in the art is called" the escapement.Such'resistance is most marked in extremely soft playing, and: thevirtuoso who would produce whispering tones is compelled. to develop aparticular technique in which his fingers must act upon a key with asudden increase of pressure just before the string is touched by thehammer.

In grand piano actions as heretofore constructed the repetition lever isso regulated that its contact surface will stand-but very, little-higherthan the contact end of the jack, whereby, in extremely soft, playing,the hammer, inits move- 90 ment toward the string, will ride on therepetition lever alone until the extreme upper end of the repetitionlever makes contact with the regulating screw placed in the hammerflange, which stops the upward movement of that end of the lever whenthe top of the hammer is about one-quarter inch from the string. Asdownward movement of the key is continued the jack, rising with therepetition lever support, lifts the hammer about one-eighth of an inchfurther during which movement the jack escapes from under the knuckle bycoaction of the heel of the jack with the regulating button, permittingthe hammer to drop from the string. It is this lifting of the hammer bythe jack itself, together with the friction of the jack in slipping fromthe knuckle, which occasions the resistance above referred to, whichresistance in the improved construction hereinafter described isovercome or eliminated.

In the improved construction to be described hereinafter, in extremelysoft playing, the hammer, through its knuckle, is borne upon therepetition lever and the jack escapes without making contact. During thefinal movement of the key,

called the aftertouch in the art, the repetition lever is rocked,permitting the hammer to drop to the desired depth. The operation isthus characterized by a smooth, continuous movement without noticeableresistance at any point. Such rocking movement of the repetition leveris accomplished, after the jack has started its escapement from underthe knuckle, by a stop which is placed, not at the lever extremity asheretofore, but at a point between the fulcrum of the lever and thebearing of the hammer knuckle thereon.

The invention will be more fully explainedhereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawing inwhich it is illustrated, andin which:

Figure 1 isapartly diagrammatic view inside elevation of so much ofiagrand piano action as 5 is necessary to enable the invention to be understood, the parts being shown in the positions whichithey occupy beforethe key is depressed.

Figure 2 is a similar view, but showing the parts. in the positionwhich. they occupy when the key 10 has been depressed to the point wherethe repetition lever comes in contact with the stop, with the jackclearing the hammer knuckle and the repetition lever, on which theknuckle rests, about to start rocking in a counterclockwise direction 15from its normal position to permit the hammer to fall away from thestring.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, butshowing the parts intheposition which they occupy when the key hasbeen depressed to itsfull, ex-. 20 tent, with the jack clear of the hammer knuckle, and therepetition lever, on which the knuckle rests, rocked in acounterclockwise position from its normal position to permit the hammerto fall away from the string, the position of the hammer, 25 repetitionlever and support, as in Figure 2, being indicated by broken lines inorder to illustrate clearly the movement of the parts as the key isdepressed to its full extent.

Except as hereinafter pointed out the improved 30 action comprises theparts usually found in grand piano actions and arranged and coacting, ina general sense, substantially as heretofore. The key lever a, only thatportion remote from the key proper being shown, is provided as usualwith a 35 back check a and with a regulating button a which coacts withthe usual repetition lever support I). The latter, pivoted at b carriesat its pivot end the usual hammer rest b has fulcrumed thereon, as at bthe repetition lever c and 0 has pivoted thereon, as at Z), the usualjack d. The heel d of the jack is arranged to coact with a regulatingbutton e as usual and the upper end of the jack passes through a slot 0in the repetition lever c to coact with the knuckle f of the 45 hammer,f. The jack has applied to it a spring d secured to the support b, asat 2, and tending to maintain the jack in position relative to theposition of the hammer knuckle, with the adjusting screw d bearingagainst a stop b carried by the 50 support b. A spring 0 which may be anarm of the spring d tends to maintain the repetition lever in theposition shown in Figure 1 with the adjusting screw 0 bearing againstthe support.

As thus far described the parts of the action 55 are substantially likethe corresponding parts employed in actions of this kind heretofore, butin order that the desired results may be attained it is necessary toprovide means whereby the repetition lever shall be rocked on itsfulcrum in' r a counterclockwise direction, as seen in the drawing, anditsupper end depressed in order that the hammer may fall away from thestring. For this purpose there is provided a stop 9, shown as the headof a screw which passes through the repetition lever at'a point betweenits fulcrum and its bearing against the knuckle f of the hammer and isadjustable lengthwise in a horizontal rod g below the repetition leversand secured to the action frame F by rods, one of which will strike thestop g and will .be rocked on its fulcrum, permitting the hammer to fallaway from the string... It will be seen that in order to accomplish'thisaction effectively the movement of the forward or upper end of the levermust not be stopped, as it is by the stop at its end in the oldconstruction, and the lever must have suflicient movement on its fulcrumto permit the hammer to fall away from the string. This can beaccomplished only by leaving the upper or forward ;:end ofthe lever freeand by applying the stop at a point between the fulcrum of the lever andthe bearing of the hammer thereon.

-It will.be understood that in extremely soft playing the hammer willbecaused to strike the string by its momentum acquired in the upwardmovement of the hammer with the repetition lever and the support andthat in such playing the jack is not called upon action of the jack ishowever required in ordinary playing when the spring of the repetitionlever will not be stiff enough to give the hammer momentum through thelift of the repetition lever, but in this action the jack will neverlift above the repetition lever during a stroke. It will further beunderstood that under all conditions of playing the jack is moved fromunder the hammer knuckle before striking of the string by the hammerallowing the hammer to fall freely until the knuckle again contacts theupper surface of the lever which in the meantime has been rocked awayfrom the hammer knuckle in the operation described.

It will be understood that various changes in details of constructionand arrangement may be made to suit different conditions of use withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention as defined in theaccompanying claim.

I claim as my invention:

to lift the hammer. The

In a grand piano action, the combination of a key lever, a pivotedsupport in operative relation with the key lever, a jack pivotallymounted on the support and having a heel, an adjusting screw forcoaction with the heel of the jack to cause the 'jack to swing as thesupport is raised, a spring-pressed repetition lever fulcrumed on thesupport, a hammer having a knuckle normally bearing against therepetition lever in line with the jack, a stop screw, independent of therepetition lever and having a head above the repetition lever tocooperate with the repetition lever at a point between its fulcrum andthe jack, and means below the repetition lever to support the screwadjustably in relatively fixed position, whereby the repetition lever isrocked on its fulcrum with respect to the pivoted support to permit thehammer to fall after the jack has begun its escapement to remove its endfrom alignment with the knuckle of the hammer.

HENRY S. HORNBECK.

